


Just Another Day

by monogramsalarm (orphan_account)



Category: Tuck Everlasting - Miller/Tysen/Shear & Federle
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-17 17:53:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10599144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/monogramsalarm
Summary: A completely average day in the life of 230 year old Miles Tuck.





	

Miles woke up earlier than he needed to. He lazily pulled on a hoodie and slipped on his sneakers, yawning as he quickly combed through his mop of wavy hair. Sunday mornings were usually his most productive, but on this particular Sunday, all he wanted was to go for a run. 

He let Aurora out the back door and yawned again, checking his phone. Nothing particularly interesting, the normal midnight text about a meme from his brother was the only notification. In the past few years, Miles’ life seemed to be at a constant high point. He hadn't gotten into an argument with Jesse in months, he saw his family more often, and he finally didn't feel alone and useless.

Miles opened the fridge and grabbed a small container of yogurt, topping it off with a few berries. Seeing that the weather had finally warmed up after a few rainy days, Miles sat on the back porch and watched the hyperactive golden retriever run around the yard. There was finally a sense of fulfillment in his life, and he couldn't have been happier. At this point, Miles felt like he had finally gotten a normal life. No, he wasn't going to age or die, and yes, he still had to move every ten years or so, but he still felt less like a visitor to every place he lived. Before then, he just felt like he was observing others and wasn't able to have a sense of belonging. Everything had changed, including his outlook on life, and for that, he was grateful.

“Want to go for a run?” Miles asked Aurora in an upbeat voice, walking inside and grabbing her leash. Attaching it to her collar, Miles tucked his phone into his pocket and headed out the door for his daily run. The sun had fully risen over the horizon, giving a warm glow to the picturesque neighborhood. He pulled out a set of headphones from the pocket in his hoodie, turning on some music as he ran. Aurora kept up with his steady pace as Miles felt the familiar tranquil feeling that accompanied his morning runs.

He loved being out when no one else was and running had always been his go-to exercise. Since he drank the water, his body hadn't changed, so exercising in order to stay healthy wasn't why he did it. Miles just enjoyed the rush he felt while running. Something to remind him that he was alive. He started the habit of going for runs every morning after the lowest point of his life in 1977. At that time, he needed something to make him get out of bed every morning. Now, he just enjoyed it. It was good to let Aurora have exercise every morning too, especially when he left her home alone all day while he was at work.

As Miles neared the end of his run and came closer to home, his phone started ringing. He slowed down to a walk and answered it, forgetting to look at the caller ID as he caught his breath. He smiled instantly, hearing the familiar voice.

“Hey ma, good morning!” Miles said lightly, but still out of breath.

“Miles, are you okay? You sound wheezy,” Mae Tuck’s worried voice chimed in and he chuckled, adjusting his grip on Aurora’s leash.

“I'm fine, ma. You just caught me at the end of my run, so I'm a little out of breath,” Miles reassured his mother. “Besides, nothing would have happened to me. You worry too much for someone whose sons have been through hell and back,” he pointed out.

“Well, I'm just looking out for you, Miles! Besides, you may have grown out of your childhood asthma, but it might still come back,” she said, causing Miles to laugh.

“I never get anything more than a flu that lasts one day at the most, I doubt my body would let me develop asthma again,” Miles walked up his driveway, letting go of Aurora’s leash. She diverted from the path to grab the newspaper near the garage door, then trotted back to Miles with the newspaper firmly between her jaws. He chuckled, scratching her ears and taking it from her. “Thank you. You're a good girl,” he went back to the phone and yawned as he and his dog stepped inside. “So ma, are you and pa going to be in town next weekend? I thought I could stop by for his birthday, it's only a three hour drive. I could pick up Jesse on the way and we could all go to that great Italian restaurant that’s about 15 minutes from your place.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful! Your father is going to love it. Even though we see you two a  _ lot  _ more than we used to, we still miss when we got to be around you every day,” Miles could hear in her voice that she was smiling and he grinned to himself as he unhooked Aurora’s leash from her collar.

“That hasn't happened in over a century,” Miles laughed. He unzipped his hoodie and put his phone on speaker. “Ma, I'm going to let you go, I need to get ready. But I'll call you later and we can talk more about next weekend, okay?”

“Alright, Miles! I love you, stay safe,” Mae said in her motherly voice that always came out when she said goodbye.

“I'm always safe,” he chuckled. “But I love you too. Bye, ma. Talk to you later!” Miles hung up the phone. Aurora waddled in from the living room and dropped a ratty old teddy bear at his feet, wagging her tail. He smiled and picked it up, tossing it in the air for her to catch. She missed but still grabbed the toy, thrilled by it anyway. As she tossed the bear around, having fun by herself, Miles got a quick shower, accidentally missing a Skype call from his brother. Miles felt guilty and called his brother back as he finished getting ready for the day, propping his phone up on a shelf in the bathroom. Jesse’s face appeared on the screen and he grinned.

“Hey Miles, do you want to get coffee later?” Jesse asked in a cheery voice and Miles groaned, rolling his eyes.

“You do realize you could have texted me this?” Miles began to brush his teeth. He knew Jesse wasn’t in the best shape, and agreed anyway. As Miles’ mental state improved and he became more content with his existence, his brother seemed to move the opposite way. Jesse seemed to have lost a small part of himself. He’d since stopped traveling, claiming that he’d seen everything there was to see. He’d bought himself an apartment 15 minutes from Miles’ house, insisting that he just wanted to try out a “normal” life like Miles had. But Miles knew that Jesse had just grown bored of his life of adventure and saw how Miles’ life had improved and wanted to be more like him. His brother wasn't as okay as he tried to pass off, so Miles tried his best to cheer up Jesse.

“Aw, c’mon Miles. You know you missed my face.” Jesse teased. Miles almost snorted from laughter, but thought better of it, remembering the toothpaste in his mouth. He rinsed off his toothbrush and spit, giving his brother an annoyed look.

“You don't really give me time to miss you when you're at my house five days a week.” Miles pointed out. “But I'll get coffee with you anyways. Meet at the Starbucks that's halfway between our places in say…Twenty minutes?” Jesse nodded, his crooked grin lighting up his face. He ended the Skype call and tucked his phone into his pocket. Miles walked out to the living room and sat on the couch, needing a moment to himself before heading out to see his brother.

Aurora hopped on the couch and climbed onto his lap, oblivious to the fact that she was a two year old dog and not a three month old puppy like when he had first gotten her. He chuckled and stroked her fur, leaning back to avoid her kisses. She knew what he was doing and pushed him down, licking his cheek profusely. Miles laughed and tried to push her off of him.

“Aurora, stop! I love you, but this is too much!” Miles chuckled, sitting up. She flopped onto her side and looked up at him, her tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth. “You're such a happy dog, aren't you?” Miles cooed, patting her belly. “You're lucky that you're so spoiled.” He really did love having her around. In the first month of having her, Miles was worried that he wasn't cut out for having a pet. But, his worries subsided when he saw how much she positively affected his mood. Miles grinned at her and stood up, knowing she wasn't going to let him relax. He grabbed her leash again and they walked the few miles down to Starbucks.

Miles noticed Jesse sitting at a table outside with both of their coffees and smiled at his brother. Aurora tried to run over to the familiar person, but Miles kept a firm grip on the leash, knowing that Jesse was still a little nervous about his dog after years of being around her.

“Hey, thanks for ordering my coffee,” Miles took a seat as Aurora sat obediently underneath the table. “So, what have you been up to since you showed up and ate all my food on Friday night?” he teased, taking a sip. Jesse shrugged.

“I was looking for jobs yesterday. Not anything super exciting,” Jesse chuckled as he took a drink of his overly-sugary drink that Miles could have sworn had no real coffee in it.

“Well look at you, being all grown up,” he chuckled. Jesse ducked his head in embarrassment and Miles sighed. “Jesse, I'm just teasing you. Obviously you're not just a little kid,” he defended his brother, trying to think of something to change the subject to. “Well, pa’s birthday is this weekend so I was thinking that we could drive to their place to see them. I'm sure they’d love it.” Jesse nodded enthusiastically in reaction to his brothers plan.

“I haven't seen them since Christmas! Granted, that's only been two months, but you’ve seen them more recently than I have,” Jesse acknowledged.

“Only because ma and I talk to each other all the time and have lunch every two weeks,” Miles chuckled. He’d spent so much time with Mae. They would have lunch together and rant about different things. Miles would talk about his fellow teachers at his school, and Mae would talk about her neighbors who she swore were stealing her casserole dishes after neighborhood potlucks. They gossiped like bored housewives.

“I swear, you’re such a mama’s boy,” Jesse snorted at his brother. “No other grown man in the world spends that much time with his mother.” Miles rolled his eyes and punched him playfully. He felt Aurora rest her head on his knee and he chuckled, looking underneath the table at her.

“Are you telling me that you're bored?” Miles cooed in a soft voice. His brother laughed at his attachment to his dog and Miles gave him an annoyed look. “Oh come on, I’ve heard you talking to your toad like he’s a real person. My communicating with my dog isn’t any different.”

“Still, it’s just funny to hear you speaking in that voice. I guess it goes along with your new upbeat personality.” Jesse pulled his phone out of his hoodie.

“It’s not really new. It’s actually really old,” Miles snorted. “I was just stuck in a phase for a while.” Jesse cocked his eyebrow mischievously.

“Are you saying you went through an angsty emo phase?” He grinned. “I’ve got some CDs in my car you might want to borrow if the phase comes back.”

“Shut up, Jesse,” Miles shot his brother a look. “I’m nearly two hundred and thirty, do you think I would ever go through one of those teenage phases?”

“I just think it would be funny to see you in black skinny jeans and too much eyeliner,” Jesse crossed his legs. “Saying stuff like ‘You don’t understand my music!’ while crying in your room.”

“Are you sure  _ you _ didn’t go through this phase? You seem to know a little too much about it.” Miles teased, gathering Aurora’s leash in his hands. He stood up and Jesse threw his empty cup in the trash, realizing he had remnants of chocolate syrup and whipped cream on his hands. “Hey, do you want to chaperone a nature hike this week? My students are going to need a tree expert.” He nudged his brother playfully with his elbow. Jesse grinned, nodding.

"Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Those kids love me more than you.” He pointed out. Miles rolled his eyes, patting Jesse on the shoulder.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Jesse,” Miles pulled out his wallet, handing his brother five bucks for the coffee. “See you later this week?” Jesse nodded as he tucked the money into his back pocket.

“See you,  _ Smiles _ .” Jesse smirked, using the nickname he was so proud of coming up with to match his brothers new mood.

“Bye, Jes.” Miles laughed, walking the opposite way, scratching Aurora’s ears. He turned, taking a quick look at his brother, making sure he was okay. Even after everything they’d been through, Miles knew Jesse still wouldn’t open up if he was upset. Seeing that the smile still lingered after he turned away, Miles continued on his way home to finish up his work for the weekend. Grading book reports for seven year olds seemed like a dull way to spend the afternoon, but Miles still enjoyed his work, even after doing it for so long. All in all, he still enjoyed his life. He thought after over two hundred years, he’d have grown bored. But so much had changed that he knew he’d still have plenty of years of enjoyment left.


End file.
